One out of every 20 women in Fiji is forced to have sex during their first sexual experience.
Mereseini Rakuita, the Principal Strategic Lead—Women and Girls at the Pacific Secretariat made this known at the Women in Media Inaugural Conference 2025 held at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva, which ends today.
“Perpetrators of sexual abuse are mainly male family members and family friends. For 1 in 20 women, their first sexual experience was forced,” she said.
“About 68 percent were hit with a fist or object, 60 percent were pushed or shoved or had their hair pulled, 44 percent were kicked, dragged or beaten up, 20 percent were assaulted with a weapon or threatened and 10 percent choked or burnt on purpose.
“In the Eastern Division, 79 percent of women were subjected to domestic violence by their husbands or partners compared to 61 percent for Fiji as a whole.”
